


You're the one I want.

by arfrid



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Big Spoon Eleven, F/F, Little Spoon Max, Past Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25245502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arfrid/pseuds/arfrid
Summary: “It’s just… I just… Okay, El. Say there’s this thing I want, like, really want, but someone else has it. That’s what’s wrong.”
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Kudos: 52





	You're the one I want.

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god this was supposed to be an Elmax fic for the demigod au but it didn't end up showing El with her demigod side but it was too good to throw away aaaaaa

Eleven had always thought Max was, as Mike had put it, “cool”. She wore clothes that other people seemed to hate, but she didn’t seem to care. She was very good at video games, and Eleven would stand behind her in awe as she watched her friend play. She would note everything about her; from the way her eyes narrowed in concentration, the way she bit her lip when she was on a tough level.

Mike had said she was pretty, and he made her feel _something_ , but it was _nothing_ compared to the way she felt when she was around Max.

As a result of working with Papa - _Brenner_ -, Eleven could read emotions quite well; she would tell when Mike was sad, or Dustin was happy, or when Lucas was angry. But Max was different. She had what she had heard Nancy call: ‘Walls of Emotion’ or just Walls.

The only time someone had broken down her walls was when she was with Lucas (when she heard she had spent time alone with him, she felt inexplicably jealous). Now it was her turn to break them down.

They were having a sleepover, and Max had just finished reading a dramatic part of the comic she had introduced into El’s world. She was entranced by the heroine, who had reminded her of her new best friend.

El was getting pretty sleepy, but it didn’t seem like Max was. Max was staring out the window, watching who knows what.

“Max?” She asked, crawling out of the bed, watching her startle and look at her with a split second of panic, before she put on a forced neutral expression. El recognized it, as she had had to do it multiple times.

“El, what are you doing up? Did you have a nightmare?” El shook her head at her friend’s concerned questions. Max nodded at her, then patted the seat next to her, inviting her over. She came over and they watched the stars for a moment, eyes going on each constellation she could remember that Mike had told her. Then she decided to stare at something more beautiful and interesting, watching her blue eyes, laced with hidden pain.

She knew that look all too well.

“Max.” She grabbed Max’s hands, watching as her friend’s cheeks redden and her pupils dilate with surprise. “What’s wrong?”

It came out as a statement more than a question, and the redhead looked away.

“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” She said simply and quietly in a way that reminded her of Will.

“Max.” The ocean-eyed girl looked at her, the blue meeting the brown, silently connecting. “Friends. Don’t. Lie.”

El watched as emotion flittered over her friend’s face, eventually settling with longing (at least, she thinks its longing). What could she be longing for?

“It’s just… I just…” She started, obviously thinking hard, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, “Okay, El. Say there’s this thing I want, like, _really_ want, but someone else has it. That’s what’s wrong.”

“Well actually, there are a lot of things wrong, but this is what’s on my mind the most.” She adds as an afterthought. Eleven felt her heart beat faster; could she mean her? Did Max really want her, after all?

“What do you want?” Eleven asked, sounding hopeful. Oops. She meant it to sound curious. Max looked at her weirdly, before looking down at her hands and chuckling coldly to herself.

“You’ll leave me.” Her voice shook. Eleven’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting her to be this vulnerable. She’s never this shaken.

“No, I never would.” She told her best friend confidently, and Max looked up. There were tears glistening in her eyes.

“You’ll hate me and leave me…” She started trembling, voice finally showing her emotions. “Please, El. Don’t leave me.”

_“Because what I want is you.”_

El’s heart stops, and her best friend finally started full-on sobbing, hiding her face in her hands.

With a rush of adrenaline, she decided to stop her crush’s crying by grabbing her chin (as Mike had done), pulling her head up and kissing her.

It felt better than anything else she had ever done; it was long and tender, but it also made her feel more alive than she had ever done with Mike. As they parted, she caught her crush’s eye; it was full with happiness, with a hint of relief and surprise.

They both looked at each other for a second, before Max got up and held her hand toward El.

“Come on, El. Let’s go to bed.” She said, a smile dancing on her lips. Eleven gratefully took her hand and Max led them to the bed. They lay down, and Max started reading Wonder Woman again with El lying on her chest.

Hopper found them the next morning with El as the big spoon with her arms around her new-found love, protecting her.


End file.
